Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-04-11
AN OLD FORTY MINER
TELLS HOW gEARDS WERE POPULAR
IzED BY CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.

The Story of Gradual Emancipation
from the Razor--A Picturesque Lot of
Men in the Land of Gold-The Doctors
to the Rescue.
''The early gold seekers in California con-
ferred benefit upon the country-uncon-
sciously, it is true-which have never seen
mentioned, but for which the younger gen
Grafton can hardly be grateful enough"
The speaker was one of the old forty miners;
he was speaking of the annual dinner
at the Associated Pioneers of California,
which he had attended. "When / was a
young man. he continued, ''no one in any
part Of the United States with which | was
acquainted was permitted TO wear a beard.
There was an unwritten law against it, which
was more strictly obeyed than the statutes
against murder or robbery. a man with
full, flowing beard, such as may be seen any
where in a walk of five minutes, would have
been followed and hooted at by crowd of
boys in any New England town; while
mustache was an open confession that the
'wearer was rowdy and social outlaw.
The wearer would not have been admitted to
| membership in any church, nor-unless he
was a military oliicer-received INTO any re-
spectacle circle Side whiSkcrs could be worn,
or chin whiskers; but the lines were drawn
e.ainst the complete thing OF the shaded up
per lip by public opinion so strong that it
seemed immutabie
IN THE LAND OF PROMISE.
"Th2 geld excitement broke ont, and in
alruc-t every town and village there were
| some who caught the fever and started for
| the land of promise We bad hard time of
| it the fortImat" fellows Just as hard a time
as the unfortunate except for the courage
that success brings. There was no leisure,
| and little indunement for self adorment in
| the absence of women. We got careless about
| observing the rules of our old civilized life,
and one of tie first evidences Of this was that
one alter another we stopped shaving, II
took too much time, and our razors got dull
or our bits Of looking glass lost or broken, &,
and soon every mining camp on the coast was
| filed with full bearded men.
Early in the ffties, the men who had left
| wives and children OF sweethearts at home,
| and who had raked together few thousand
| dollars began to return; some to bring their
| families back and Others to pay off the mort
| SdStS cl INtI ldiuiS anu Etllldll- ne Ndu
| been free from the trammels of the old civil
| ization long enough to I've indifferent to some
| of its arbitrary rules, and then we were con-
! ceited enough to think that our adventures
| had given us the right to be recognized as
| heroes, and didn't mind wearing a sort of
| distinguishing badge So a large number of
| us returned to our old homes with much the
same appearance that we had in the mines
%We were decidedly picturesque lot,
| suppose, and wherever we went were imme-
diately recognized as returned gold digSers,
and received the respect among our old
neighbors that our surPosititious wealth, alasl
only supposititious III many cases-command-
| ed. In no very long time there We're few
| towns in which there were not several re
| turned Californians; and. as the novelty OF
full beards began to wear off, the real i'm
! prnvement which boards made in some men
was seen. Huge jawei, long Tipped men came
hack absolutely handsome.
DOCTORS TO THE RESCUE.
''Then the doctors entered the field-young
men with weak lungs and bronchial troubles
seemed TO be cured At first the climate OF
| California and tie exposure of camp life OBJ
tanned the credit, but after winter at homs
it was believed that the protection given by
the beard should share the credit, and soon
many of the physicians, especially in New
England. advised their patients to CEASE
shaving. The innovation now made its way
| rapidly. by the advice of the doctor was
as satisfactory an answer to all comments as
it is in the same part of the country when
one is caught taking his bitters' before
dinner.
1T was some years. however, before the
prejudice of generations became SO weakened
that preachers could wear boards without
severe comment on the part of some mem
bers of their congregations, if not secession
from their folds to those of shaven shepherds
1t is tradition that the late Professor Stowe
adopted shrewd device TO rid himself of tn,
hated razor. He was delivering an address
SO the story goes, on slavery, and as he be
came impassoned with the subject he ex
claimed: This curse must and will be wiped
out; the day of freedom for all men in oul
land is coming, and razor shall not touch my
face until it dawns' He was probably on,
of the first Congregational ministers to wea
hair on bis lip.
when it became allowable for any wh'
chose to wear full beard, entire emancipa
| tlOn lOlloWeu easily enough, ana Hieh DeSai
to trim their boards to suit themselves, unit
before long they could wear mustaches alon
without causing remark. We old forty
miners created this revolution-we who cam
home; and in the advantages to health, t
say nothing of the Improvement of the mora
tone of community which is caused by tn
overthrow of every senseless superstition,
think that III this we did more good than d
the gold We brought home. New Yor
| Tribune